PICS: Christmas Preparations Around the World

A man portraying Santa Claus talks to 6-month-old Aubree-Jane Halladay, of Scarborough, Maine, at a mall in South Portland, Maine on Thursday, Dec. 19, 2013. Andrew Chesnut, the Bishop Walter F. Sullivan Chair in Catholic Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University, said depictions of Santa Claus as a white man came about mainly because he was a European import, a blend of the Dutch Sinterklaas and British folklore character Father Christmas, with elements of Saint Nicholas, a 4th-century Greek bishop in modern-day Turkey. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Members of the school choir of the Terra Nova private school perform on a Christmas market at the Werdmuehleplatz square in Zurich December 19, 2013. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann (SWITZERLAND - Tags: SOCIETY)

A general view of Christmas decorations and lights at the home of the Duszenko family in Polkowice, southwestern Poland December 18, 2013. Since 1999, the Duszenko family from Lower Silesia has always decorated their house and garden before Christmas. This year, they used around 52,000 lights for the decorations. Picture taken on December 18. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel (POLAND - Tags: SOCIETY)

A diver dressed in a Santa Claus costume swims with fish at the Coex Aquarium in Seoul on December 20, 2013. The aquarium runs the event during the Christmas season. AFP PHOTO / Woohae CHO

Street children with Santa Claus gathered at a program marking the opening of Christmas by Bangiya Christya Pariseba, at Park Street, Kolkata on 19.12.2013. Photo By: Kumar Shankar Roy

A general view of Christmas decorations and lights at the home of the Duszenko family in Polkowice, southwestern Poland December 18, 2013. Since 1999, the Duszenko family from Lower Silesia has always decorated their house and garden before Christmas. This year, they used around 52,000 lights for the decorations. Picture taken on December 18. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel (POLAND - Tags: SOCIETY)

Dressed as Santa Claus, Langston Patterson, 77, waves at shoppers at Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza in Los Angeles on Monday, Dec. 16, 2013. Andrew Chesnut, the Bishop Walter F. Sullivan Chair in Catholic Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University, said depictions of Santa Claus as a white man came about mainly because he was a European import, a blend of the Dutch Sinterklaas and British folklore character Father Christmas, with elements of Saint Nicholas, a 4th-century Greek bishop in modern-day Turkey. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

With Christmas on the threshold, citizens shop for Christmas items and gifts on College Road

The Christmas illumination of Rathausplatz is pictured in Vienna, December 19, 2013. Picture taken December 19, 2013. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger (AUSTRIA - Tags: SOCIETY)

A decorated crib ahead of Christmas at Ravi Bharati Institute of Communication in Patna on Thursday.Photo by-Pramod Sharma

A Christmas tree bearing the colors of the Paraguayan national flag is seen in front of the Lopez Palace in Asuncion December 19, 2013. REUTERS/Jorge Adorno (PARAGUAY - Tags: POLITICS)

A woman poses for a photograph in front of Christmas decorations displayed in celebration of the holiday season at a shopping mall in Hong Kong, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2013. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Survivors of the onslaught of super Typhoon Haiyan queue in front of a Christmas tree during a gift giving activity inside an astrodome at Tacloban city, central Philippines December 20, 2013. Super typhoon Haiyan reduced almost everything in its path to rubble when it swept ashore in the central Philippines on November 8, killing at least 6,069 people, leaving 1,779 missing and 4 million either homeless or with damaged homes. REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco (PHILIPPINES - Tags: DISASTER SOCIETY)

A group of men makes Christmas stars at a roadside near purshawakkam a head of Christmas in Chennai on Thursday evening. Photo by SL Shanth Kumar

Children wearing Santa Claus costumes from a kindergarten listen to a priest (not pictured) explaining the history of the Christmas holiday at a Catholic church in Hanoi on December 19, 2013. AFP PHOTO/HOANG DINH NAM

Youngsters check out Christmas tress and decorations in Patna on Thursday.Photo by-Pramod Sharma

People walks past traditional Christmas candy and gift stalls, in Rome's historical Navona square, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2013. During the Christmas festivities Piazza Navona, one of the most beautiful and large square's of Rome's historical center, fills with stalls and street artists and attracts crowds of visitors. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

A meerkat stands guard on a present as another inspects a Christmas tree as animals at Sydney's Taronga Zoo received Christmas-themed treats in their enclosures on December 20, 2013. AFP PHOTO/William WEST